Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melissa Boylan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Melissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I’m not a risk taker. I like to follow the rules and believe that rules are put in place for a reason. Yet, here I am, having left a well-paying stable job as a family physician in a large hospital system, and having taken a huge risk in opening my own Direct Primary Care (DPC) office. An increasing number of medical practices are being bought by large hospitals systems, but I decided to do the opposite and open my own private practice. Many doctors are having to join together in order for their practices to financially survive, but I opened a family medicine office with only one doctor – myself. And while the world was shutting down around me at the end of March 2020 due to COVID, I applied for my first business license. Some might say that taking all of these risks is out of character for me, and they’d be right! It took me three years of research and soul searching to build up enough courage to take the leap. If you would have asked me ten years ago if I would ever open my own practice, I would have replied with a resounding “No way!” But time passed, and in the end, I decided that the risk of opening my own DPC office outweighed the unappealing alternatives — burnout, early retirement, and health problems related to frustration and stress. I am more than two years into owning Noreta Family Medicine in Columbia, SC and I am not looking back. Taking this risk required a lot of work and a leap of faith, but it was absolutely worth it to feel a sense of freedom, which for me, was the cure for burnout.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

The name of my practice, Noreta Family Medicine, is a shortened version of No Red Tape. In naming my practice Noreta, I aim to cut through the mountains of red tape for which the healthcare industry is famous and to focus on what is important, namely treating the person sitting in front of me. I offer family medicine services that folks may expect – treatment for chronic medical problems, physicals, sick visits, and minor procedures – but I do this for a monthly fee instead of filing a health insurance claim. This model of care is called Direct Primary Care. Using health insurance in the primary care setting overcomplicates the process of caring for patients, and it drives up the cost of care. The goal of Noreta Family Medicine is to simplify care for people in the Columbia, SC area by showing that primary care services are affordable without using health insurance. Noreta aims to be as transparent as possible with its pricing, and to provide personalized service by offering longer visits with me, the physician. Noreta also offers up to 98% savings on the cost of lab testing, and significant savings on medications as well.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

I’ve been asked this before, and I think people expect me to say that I would have chosen a different career path because being a physician in a broken healthcare system is not always easy, and I have certainly been unhappy at times in my job. However, there is a distinction between not being happy in a job and not being happy with my career. I love being a physician. It is an honor to take care of my patients, and I take the responsibility and trust that patients place in me seriously. I love the challenges of diagnosing new problems or taking new approaches to treat old problems, and I love the variety that comes from every day being different. Ever since I was a child, whenever I pictured a doctor, a family physician always came to mind.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I would say that becoming comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable is an important quality to develop as both a small business owner and Direct Primary Care (DPC) physician. During my medical training, I was taught the medical skills that I needed to become comfortable in the exam room with a patient, but I did not receive any business training. When I decided to open my own family medicine office, I stepped into the business world without training or experience, and this made me very uncomfortable! I felt like a wide-eyed first-year medical student all over again. I’ve realized though that experimentation is allowed in business even if experimenting is the exact opposite of what I was taught to do in my medical training. In my new role, I’ve been introduced to the idea of networking, something that I never had to do before, and which was (and still is!) uncomfortable at times. However, it has led to some great opportunities for my business. I’ve been introduced to financial statements, which thanks to the South Carolina Small Business Development Center, went from an incomprehensible foreign language to something that I am learning how to read. My final piece of advice is that you are not going to have all of the answers from the beginning, but it is ok to move forward. Work hard and when you sense that you are heading into uncomfortable territory, don’t be shy about asking for help – there are more people who are willing and able to help than you may expect!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://noretafamilymed.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noretafammed/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoretaFamMed
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-boylan-a8673657/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoIQlgTqf8g4i-hYEAraCA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/noreta-family-medicine-no-title